How to visit the calanques of Cassis?
1. Calanque de Sormiou
2. Sugiton cove
3. Calanque d’En-Vau
4. Calanque de Port Pin
5. Calanques de la Ciotat
The calanques of Cassis are among our favorites on the Mediterranean coast. We propose you a guide to visit Cassis as it should be. Do not wait any longer to enjoy the heavenly turquoise hues of the Calanques! You can choose to see them by boat or to visit the calanques on foot.
Also, there are several original options for observing the calanques:
🛶 Visit the calanques by kayak from Cassis.
⚓️ A catamaran cruise with lunch.
🚤 Rent a boat.
⛵ Other ideas to discover here. (kayaking, jet skiing, climbing, via ferrata, diving, snorkeling…)
Advice to visit the Calanques of Cassis on foot
We are going to help you to choose and to prepare your itinerary to visit the Calanques at best. For that we made a top 5 of the Calanques not to be missed with as criteria: the beauty of the place, the difficulty and the frequentation! In order not to repeat ourselves, these tips are valid for all the calanques below:
- To avoid the crowd (especially in high season), get up early to enjoy the calm of the calanque.
- Bring sun cream because most of the hikes are not shaded
- Remember to take plenty of water even if it is heavy at the beginning! Rare are the calanques with snacks or other
- Take walking shoes, do not be a tourist in flip-flops
- If you love the sea bed, do not forget the mask / snorkel / flippers
- For jumping amateurs, bring water shoes even if it is not very sexy
- Finally, do not forget that you are in the middle of nature, so keep your garbage and especially your cigarette butts so as not to set fire to this beautiful coastline
- especially your cigarette butts so as not to set fire to this beautiful coastline
> Accommodation offers in Cassis
TOP 5 : Calanques of Cassis and Marseille
1. The Calanque of Sormiou
The Calanque of Sormiou is our favorite for several reasons. The first one, and not negligible, it has a sandy beach! Yes, it is a luxury for a cove. Moreover, you will have foot on tens of meters. This beach has a lot of charm, there are lots of small huts on the left side for a handful of privileged people! If you walk along the calanque, you will even find other small beaches much less frequented.
How to reach the Calanque of Sormiou by car?
Lazy Team tip: yes, it is possible to access the Calanque of Sormiou by car! But be careful, for that you will have to rent the little cabins or book at the restaurant Le Château. This restaurant, based on seafood, is not so expensive (the name and the location may imply that it is expensive). If you want to treat yourself and avoid a 2 hour walk in the sun, plan a lunch! We did not test it but prices are around 20€ for the dishes.
You should also expect to pay 5€ for the parking.
Access to the calanque of Sormiou on foot
Where to park ? If you do not want to have lunch on the spot, if your budget does not allow it, or if you simply love walking, you will have to park for free at the parking lot located at 220 chemin de Sormiou.
Hiking ? Count on 2 hours of walking to and from the site. Be careful, on the way back it climbs a lot and there is no shade! Bring some water.
2. The Calanque of Sugiton
The Calanque of Sugiton is magnificent and very wild. The color of the water is sublime. You will find two small pebble beaches, with an island in the middle of the calanque to jump. We advise you to start with the sunny beach and then to go to the second one, which is quieter. Do not hesitate to walk around in order to have different points of view from the cliffs, the colors are really very beautiful!
How to get to the calanque of Sugiton ?
Where to park ? Park your car (for free) at the university center of Luminy.
Hiking ? Part of the hike is on a false flat and the descent is not too steep. The return trip is still a bit steep! It takes about 1h45 for 6 km round trip. The cumulative difference in altitude is 500 meters for this hike. Once arrived at Sugiton, you can reach the Calanque de Morigou in less than 30 minutes. Be careful, some passages can be complicated for children or people who have vertigo (ladder and rope). The route Luminy – Sugiton – Morgiou – Luminy takes 2 hours of walking.
The Calanque of Morgiou is also accessible from the Parking of Luminy, without passing by Sugiton, in 45 minutes. It is pretty but you have less possibility to rest quietly.
3. The Calanque of En-Vau
The Calanque of En-Vau is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful calanques of Cassis, a real jewel! On the other hand, the walk to get there is quite sportive. Once you arrive, you will not regret having sweated because the shades of blue are exceptional. The Calanque of En-Vau is very famous so we recommend you to go there early, before noon, to avoid the crowd and not to suffer too much from the walk in the sun.
How to get to the En-Vau calanque ?
Where to park ? There is a parking lot in Port Miou but it may be full during the high season or at peak hours. You can then park in the surrounding streets (avenue Notre-Dame which is free for example). If you are unlucky enough to have to park in the official Calanques parking lot, it will cost you 8€ per day, even if you put on your best smile.
Hiking ? It took us 1h45 round trip, but if you are not as excited as we are, you can count on 2h with short breaks. To En-Vau, the hike is 3.5 km (but there is the return). There is a difference in height of 125 meters positive and negative, so 600 meters of difference in height for the round trip!
Access path to the En-Vau Calanque: You will go along the Port Miou Calanque and pass by the Port Pin Calanque to get to En-Vau (see map below). In the morning, we advise you to go directly to En-Vau without stopping because it is a victim of its own success and quickly crowded! Its eastern exposure allows you to have the sun in the morning. To take nice pictures, do not hesitate to climb on the rocks, the huge turquoise blue “spot” is sublime!
4. The Calanque of Port Pin
As previously announced, this calanque is located between Port Miou and En-Vau. The access is therefore easier! Count 15/20 minutes to get there from the parking of Port Miou. The Calanque of Port Pin is very nice and very long but it is very crowded because of its proximity to the parking. We advise you to move to the sides so that you do not end up on top of each other on the small beach. If you visit the creeks of Cassis, it is a must not miss, just like En-Vau.
5. The Calanques of La Ciotat
How to reach the beaches of Mugel ?
While staying in La Ciotat, we discovered the calanques of Mugel and Figuerolles. We advise you to take a walk in the Mugel Park to see the various small calanques that surround it. Stop at the Belvedere to contemplate the view!
Where to park ? You can park on Avenue du Mugel (paying) to enjoy the two beaches of Mugel.
How to get to the Calanque de Figuerolles?
To get to the calanque of Figuerolles there is a small parking lot at 5 minutes walk but we advise you to arrive early to have space. If it is full, you will have to turn in the streets around and cross your fingers. The access to this calanque is very nice, you will go down the steps in large shaded parts and you will go along a restaurant with a very nice terrace overlooking the sea.
Compared to the other calanques of this top, Figuerolles is really less beautiful. So much less that we did not take a picture of it but here it is anyway
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Where to sleep to visit the calanques?
The hotel
For the location of your hotel, you have a wide choice. For more animation, we recommend you to stay around Marseille. Otherwise, the alternatives around Cassis or La Ciotat are also very good. Find your happiness on Booking.com
Camping
We found the ideal solution to enjoy the creeks of Cassis! We stayed* at the 4 star campsite La Baie des Anges of the Homair Vacances group. It is located in La Ciotat, so very close to the calanques in 5th position of our top. Its location is ideal because it is about 30 minutes from the Calanques of Cassis and the Calanques of Marseille. An incredible sunset spot is also nearby.
Price wise, it is very interesting, especially outside the high season. Our mobile home for 6 people with sea view and air conditioning was 323€ per week, which means a night at 46€! The fact that you can cook avoids the high costs of restaurants. This will allow you to do other activities such as tennis, petanque, swimming pool, ping pong, volleyball or even animations with the camping team.
*stay at the campsite La Baie des Anges offered by Homair Vacances
The view that we would like every morning…
Where to see the sunset in La Ciotat?
If you want to contemplate one of the most beautiful sunsets of the coast, go on the Route des Crêtes. This is the 10 km long road that separates La Ciotat from Cassis. The Route des Crêtes is winding and allows you to take the height to admire the show. In high season, do not hesitate to go there in advance to be able to park easily because there is no parking lot as such. Here is the exact GPS point of the following pictures: map here. LIEN
What about you ? Which calanque did you prefer?
For other ideas of escapades in France, it is here!
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